Sheffield now home to 44 Syrian refugees

Claire Lewis

Sheffield welcomed 44 Syrian refugees into the city in a six month period after they fled their war-torn country, new figures reveal.

Between October 2015 and March 2016, a total of 1,602 desperate Syrians arrived in Britain as part of a scheme where the Government has pledged to resettle 20,000 refugees by 2020.

A total of 71 local authorities across the country have helped the refugees so far, with Coventry taking the highest number - 105.

The Government resettlement scheme is voluntary for local authorities.

A Home Office spokesman said: "The UK has been at the forefront of the international response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

"We have committed to resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees through our Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme over the course of this parliament - and have already provided refuge to more than 1,600 people in need of protection.

"There has been a tremendous amount of goodwill from local authorities and the private, non-governmental and voluntary sectors as well as from individuals across the UK.

"We are very grateful for all the local authorities who have offered their support and will continue to work with them to identify further opportunities to resettle Syrian families."

What began as a peaceful uprising against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad five years ago became a full-scale civil war that has left more than 250,000 people dead.